STILL LIFE
Not one for make-up and heels, interior designer Joyce Wang makes an exception for our cover shoot as she works on a project with Louis Vuitton
Joyce Wang is standing over a flower-shaped Concertina Chair by Raw Edges, a piece from Louis Vuitton’s new Objets Nomades collection, inside the Central Magistracy building at Tai Kwun. In just a few weeks this building will play host to Louis Vuitton’s exhibition of that very collection, for which Joyce is designing the scenography. But you wouldn’t know it today. Before our cover shoot, the Central Magistracy was empty, the wooden floorboards and white walls awaiting Joyce’s magical, transformative touch.
The renowned interior designer has an appreciation for luxury fashion, with a penchant for outfits with avant-garde silhouettes and clean, architectural lines. But Joyce prefers to work behind the scenes, which means you’ll often find her in her uniform of a crisp shirt and trousers. Heels? Don’t even think about it.
Today she is wearing a pleated white blouse and matching crepe trousers under a beige tuxedo jacket fresh off Louis Vuitton’s spring/summer 2019 runway. In a similar vein to Joyce’s own designs, the clothes have a chic, minimalist feel. Joyce breaks habit by donning red-heeled booties for the camera and agreeing to a lick of lipstick, even though she normally goes bare-faced.
Photographer and friend Alex Maeland, privy to her shyness in front of the camera, offers counsel. “For the next shot, let’s try a more whimsical look,” he says. Without missing a beat, Joyce quips, “I’m not good at being whimsical. I only do sexy or intelligent.”
As you can see from our cover shoot and will no doubt see in Joyce’s work for the Objets Nomades exhibition later this month, Joyce does both very well.